Spain Police Arrest 4 for Website Cyberattack That Cost $530K

Spanish police say they have arrested four people suspected of carrying out a cyberattack that stopped a media website from working for three weeks and cost it some 425,000 euros ($530,600).

Spanish news website prnoticias said Sunday the attacks, organized by a former director of rival news outlet Intereconomia, had hindered its output for 21 days starting in Oct. 2013.

Those arrested are described as a business entrepreneur and three computer experts who he allegedly hired to launch an unlawful attack known as distributed denial of service, a police statement said Sunday.

An international investigation took 14 months and involved the FBI and Canadian authorities who collaborated to locate and arrest the suspects in Madrid and Tarragona.

The statement did not say when the arrests were made.